Absolute Truth

I was recently speaking with a co-worker (who is actually sitting right behind me as I’m typing this). He is one of those guys, like most of the guys that I work with, who says he is a “Christian,” yet for some reason disagrees with most of what the bible says about morality. Again, like most people, he will never say that out loud, but it’s simply how it is with him.

The other day we were arguing about whether or not homosexuals were born that way. In the end, I said to him, “Listen, it boils down to this. There are only two possible ways to look at morality:

1.) “There is an absolute Truth that at one point or another we deviated from, and everyone started making up their own sense of what’s right and wrong.”

2.) “There is no truth, therefore, no meaning or purpose whatsoever, and we are all just wandering around aimlessly trying to eek out an existence until we die.”

I told him, “This goes way deeper than you think.” That’s exactly what Francis Bacon was talking about when he wrote, "A little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion" (see post below). People refuse to go deep in there thinking, because they know that as soon as they do, they are going to come face to face with the fact that there is an Absolute Truth, which if you go deep enough, is completely undeniable. At that point people know that they will have to be accountable for the sin in their lives. They avoid going down that road, so they branch off to take more scenic routes. Roads that are prettier, non threatening………and easy to get lost on. They know that their conscience lies deeply recessed in their mind behind all of the junk that they’ve shoved in front of it (so that they wouldn’t have to acknowledge it anymore).

Zeal Without Knowledge

Francis Bacon wrote, "Knowledge is the rich storehouse for the glory of the Creator and the relief of man's estate. A little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion."

It’s funny how the mind works. If you think too much without the right attitude, rationale, or common sense, you will end up with an array of outlandish ideas about yourself, your circumstances, the world, and God. On the other hand, if you approach each issue, whether it means ill or prosperity to you or is contrary to the way you have always believed, with the right attitude, rationale, and with a little common sense, you will find a whole new world open up to you.

The touchstones in my life have been marked by the revelations that I have gotten along the way. As I look back, each turning point in my life has been solely because of a radical change in the way I think and view the world. Each time it happens, I am filled with such passion and boldness that I can hardly contain myself. I have to admit, part of the excitement comes from a bloated pride with my new knowledge. You know the kind of pride that you see in the super-spiritual person? The kind of pride that says, “I know the perfect way to live, and anyone who thinks differently is brainwashed by the world.”

This is the philosophy that Bacon talks about that leads to atheism. Most atheists that I know came through the tabernacle of God only to deny him just before their knee could touch the ground in worship. The problem is that they came to God with the wrong intentions and expectations, and they ended up blaming God for not fulfilling those expectations.

MAN THOUGHTS by Sid Falco (a participant of the G8 Men's Meetings at the Gateway Church NRH Campus)

"There were many ways of breaking a heart. Stories were full of hearts broken by love, but what really broke a heart was taking away its dream—whatever that dream might be." -Pearl S. Buck

"I’m not perfect. I screw up every day. I sin. I cry. I fail. I repent. And then I do it again. I tell you all that to let you know that I’m writing to you out of a heart of humility, not a "here’s the answer" kind of mindset. Because I know I’m not alone and because I love my brothers, from time to time, I share what the Lord gives me. Lately, God’s really been talking to me about living out what He has put in my heart.

Our inner passions, desires and dreams are God-given. They are the fuel which makes us burn. We burn with desire to be, to conquer, to change our part of the world and, even possibly, the whole world for Him. We dream, therefore we are. If there’s nothing burning in us, something has died. Our fire has been quenched.

Exodus 15:3 says, "The Lord is a warrior; Yahweh is His name!" Because we are created in God’s image, we, too, are warriors. A warrior is a fighter; a soldier; an obedient, passionate protector; a dreamer; one who not only defends the weak, but also fights to see God’s plans for his life carried out.

When the enemy gets us to forget our mission and who we are, we become ineffective. We wake up, "do" our day, go to bed and then repeat it all again the next day. All the while, our God-given dreams get lost in the sea of living life. And when our passion dies, when we get busy in life and lose our desire, we stop engaging. We no longer are effective. We can still be good people, but I don’t look at many warriors and say, "Oh, they’re good people." No, I look at warriors in awe and think, "They are dangerous!"

My challenge to you today is, "Let’s be dangerous my brothers!!!"